


The Stars Within Me

by Letters_To_The_Universe



Series: Ablities [1]
Category: No fanfom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-06-08 13:41:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6857317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Letters_To_The_Universe/pseuds/Letters_To_The_Universe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Me and my brother, all we want in life is to be normal. Just for once. But things became way out of our control. We discovered secrets we never knew about the past and found a ally. Someone betrayed us, and now he is back, wanting revenge...</p><p> </p><p>Part 1 of the Abilities series, told in Liona's perspective.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dark Future

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DreamsOfMemoria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamsOfMemoria/gifts).



Dark shapes loomed over us as the faraway clock stroke midnight. Me and my brother picked up our pace and the streetlights dimmed. There was a strange mist and I got the feeling that this is not the normal type of fog. It smells dusty and damp, and I felt a bit dizzy and can't think straight. 

"The moon is very bright tonight." Commented Jackson, breaking the silence.

"Unusually bright." I replied, squinting at the moon. "Something is wrong." The moon was a dark murky gray, not like its usual pearl-like shine. 

We stayed silent, both of us lost in our thoughts. The sky flashed and the stars suddenly arranged into a strange pattern. There was a light in the distance. Me and Jackson gasped. I knew we are both thinking of the same thing. Dread filled my stomach. The thought was too terrible to think of. 

"Lilith escaped." He whispered.

I closed my eyes. "No." I groaned. "It can't be."

"But I thought the S.P.A.C.E. trapped her forever." Jackson muttered. 

"Someone betrayed us." I said.

"And now the Shadow's daughter wants revenge." 

 

Me and Jackson use to have a perfectly "normal" life, like average 11 year olds.

But everything changed when we turned 12.

You see, most people from my family have special talents. We call them abilities. We are known as Endowed. When you turn 12, your ability starts to show itself. 

Mom is endowed with the "7th sense". Which means she is able to get those flashes of images that will happen to the future. But it's too bad that mom rarely gets them. 

Mom says that my grandpa is a picture traveler. Which means he can literally travel into any painting or photo. That's pretty cool. But grandpa died before I get to meet him. 

Uncle Henry is a hypnotist. But he went missing a few years ago, when the Shadow was loose, causing chaos everywhere. Uncle Henry was trying to stop the Shadow. Me and Jackson believed that Uncle Henry is still out there, waiting to be rescued. The Shadow is responsible the death of my dad too. 

Aunt Alice's talents is telekinesis. She can move things with her mind. I wish I got a useful ability like her. My cousin, Belle, can talk to animals. Any kind. Even bugs. 

I can feel scenes and emotions though clothes of others, so I can't wear second-hand clothes. Which sometimes can be a good thing and sometimes a bad thing. I remember one time in school, I accidentally pulled on Lily's sweater and I suddenly felt like my arm broke in half. Luckily, Jackson arrived and managed to pull the sweater off me before the other kids noticed. After that mom pulled both of us out of school because she feared that the other children will find out about our "strangeness". From that day on, mom started to home school me and Jackson, which is pretty awesome considering we get a lot of free time and the teachers don't get to boss us around.

Speaking of Jackson, he is a storm-bringer. He can bring any sort of weather, like rain, snow, thunder, lightning and many more. Sometimes Jackson can't control his emotions, sending strong blasts of wind surging through the room, making papers flying everywhere. One time Jackson was in music class when the teacher gave him detention for talking in class. So Jackson got mad and blew the music teacher's music scores off the stand and the papers starts flying all over the room. Flutes crashed with clarinets, which fell on top of the saxophones. But as a coincidence, the window was open and Jackson said he was innocent. 

He always gets away with everything.

It was the day when me and Jackson turned 8 years old. The day when our lives changed forever. 

But no one remembered our birthday except for me and Jackson.

I remember me and Jackson sitting on the sofa, with a bag of popcorn. Mom and dad are doctors, so they often have to work night shifts. I miss mom and dad sometimes but I got Jackson to keep me company, although sometimes he is a pain the the neck.

The door creaked open and mom stepped in. She looked tired. 

"Where's dad?" Jackson asked, with so much popcorn in his mouth so that he looked like a chipmunk.

"He had to work another shift." Mom replied, putting her bag on the table. "Most of the staff is coming down with a fever, so he had to be held back a bit."

"Oh." Was all Jackson said. I knew he was feeling the same as I did. Disappointed.

"Mom, do you remember what date it is?" I looked at her hopefully.

"Honey, it is the 19th." Mom responded. Me and Jackson shared a disappointed look. I sighed. 

So we sat at the dinner table, waiting for dad. Suddenly, the phone ringed. I knew dad had never been late before, so we all knew that something was terribly wrong. 

I saw Jackson anxiously staring at mom as she picked up the phone. Mom's face turned pale as tears begin to slide down her face. 

"Dad won't be joining u-u-us tonight." Mom had a look-- a look that told them that our lives would never be the same. 

" It's the Shadow isn't it." Jackson whispered. A tear slide down his cheek. " He's gone. Uncle Henry is gone too." We lost two family members in a week. 

I was shocked, I had never seen Jackson cry before, even when Uncle Henry was taken away right before our eyes. Then the shock went away as the despair sank in. I would never hear dad's caring voice ever again. Me, mom and Jackson hugged each other, tight, and cried. 

I had never seen mom cry as she did that night. 

Everything happened so fast after that. Mom had to deal with a lot of paperwork and make a lot of phone calls. She had to say that dad died in a car crash. Mom couldn't afford our house anymore, so we have to move to a small rental house a little way down the street.

I miss dad. I miss him so much that I thought the sadness would eat me alive. 

It was a week after dad died. I sat curled up in a ball on my bed. I thought about how things would have been different of he didn't die. I thought about how he might have survived if he had a ability. I thought about if mom never had a ability, then me and Jackson won't have it too, which means that other people can take care of the Shadow. Which means that dad wouldn't have died. Suddenly, I felt very angry at mom. Without mom, then me and Jackson would had normal lives. I threw my book at the wall, leaving a small dent there. I knew that it was not mom's fault, but I want to blame someone. It just felt easier that way.

I put my head in my arms and start to cry. I felt a warm arm around my shoulder. I looked up and saw Jackson. He had been crying too. 

"Jackson?" I murmured. " Have you ever thought about how things would have been different if we are not endowed?" 

"But Li," He said, hugging me." We are suppose to have abilities. We are supposed to deal with the Shadow." I stared at him. For the first time, I found that Jackson knew more then I did. 

"But why it has to be us?!" I burst out."Why not god ruin another family?" I lowered my head. "Why us?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it is, my first chapter! Please leave kudos! I might update very slowly or fast, it depends how busy I am, but please be patient! Thank you!!!


	2. Abilities

It was November 29. 

The day when me and Jackson turned 12. 

The day when everything changed.

Dad already left us for 4 years now. But mom still can't move on. She smiles from time to time, but there is no twinkle in her eye. 

Its like she's lost and can't find her way back. 

"Li!" Jackson tugged at my blanket.

"What!?" I groaned, pulling the mattress over my head. 

"It's our 12th birthday!" Jackson stated. I shoved my glasses on and stared at him. He stared back at me. 

"Today is the day our abilities starts to show itself!" I shrieked. "I'm so excited!" Jackson laughed. 

"What do you think your ability is going to be?" He asked. 

"I fine with any ability as long as it's useful." I replied. "What do you want your ability to be?"

"Something cool." Jackson yawned.

"Boys." I muttered.

"What's that?" Asked Jackson.

"Nothing." I grinned, "come on, let's go surprise mom with breakfast!" 

The day went on normal until a sudden breeze knocked over my empty glass of orange juice.

"Mom! The window is open!" I shouted, without looking at the window.

"But honey, the window is closed." Mom remarked.

"Then how did my glass get knocked over?" I answered, as lightning flashed outside. Hmmm. Strange. The sky was blue a second ago. 

"Maybe..." Mom never finished her sentence, because Jackson was calling her.

"Mom! There's something weird going on with me!" 

"I'm coming!" Mom yelled, and I followed her up the stairs. 

I haven't been to Jackson's room in ages. And it looked like a terrible mess. There was shattered glass on the carpet, and books were everywhere. Papers flew around and somehow the table got knocked over. The pens and pencils were scattered across the floor and a pillow was found in a corner. 

"Jackson!" Mom exclaimed. 

"Mom! There's something wrong with me!" With that, Jackson burst into tears. I stood there awkwardly as mom stepped over the glass and hurried to Jackson. 

" I felt like my hands were on fire, then it was really hot... and then I felt a surge of wind." He finished lamely. "Then it started raining and lightning starts flashing." 

Mom was silent for a moment. 

"It must be your ability." She said finally. Jackson's face light up.

"Of course! A storm bringer! That was better then I thought!" Jackson yelled. I was pissed. 

"My ability is still not here yet." I groaned. "And its almost noon."

"You just have to be patient, sweetheart." Mom responded. "It look me a long time to figure out my endowment." 

So we cleaned up Jackson's room. I was putting away the books when mom handed me a faded blue sweater.

"Put that in Jackson's closet, will you?" She said. Then mom flashed one of her real smiles. She haven't smiled like that for ages. I was annoyed that it was Jackson that made her smile. 

I grabbed it and went to the drawers, but I knew something was wrong. I stood there, frozen, watching Jackson's room fade and I found myself in the dinning room, watching TV with Jackson. 

The door creaked open and mom stepped in. She looked tired.

"Where's dad?" Jackson asked, with so much popcorn in his mouth so that he looked like a chipmunk.

"He had to work another shift." Mom replied, putting her bag on the table. "Most of the staff is coming down with a fever, so he had to be held back a bit."

"Oh." Was all Jackson said. I gasped when I saw another me. I waved my hand in front of Jackson's face. He had a poker face. I realised that no one can see me. 

"Mom, do you remember what date it is?" The girl, I mean, the 8 year old me, looked at mom hopefully.

"Honey, it is the 19th." Mom responded. My 8 year old self sighed.

I saw Jackson and mom waiting for dad. Suddenly, the phone ringed. I saw the confused look on Jackson's face. His eyebrows were knitted together and he had a frown. 

I saw Jackson anxiously staring at mom as she picked up the phone. Mom's face turned pale as tears begin to slide down her face.

"Dad won't be joining u-u-us tonight." Mom had a look, a look that I never thought I would have see again. 

"It's the Shadow isn't it." Jackson whispered. A tear slide down his cheek. " He's gone. Uncle Henry is gone too." I remember the shock. The pain stabbed me in the heart. I started crying. I felt a tug on my shoulder. 

The last thing I saw was me, mom and Jackson hugging each other and sobbing. 

"Li!" Jackson shook me hard. I saw his pale face. Then, without warning, he hugged me. 

"You stupid!" He cried. "We thought we lost you!"

Mom joined the hug.

"I saw the d-d-day when d-d-dad died!" I sobbed, to my surprise, I hugged Jackson back. We stayed that way for a few minutes, when I was calm enough to tell my story. I told them about holding Jackson's sweater, and about how everything faded. I told them about how no one can see me. I told them about the fear that I had felt. 

"You can feel scenes and emotions of others." Mom mumbled. 

My life took a change for the worst after that. 

❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ 

Me and Jackson are born on November 29, 2002. Sometimes I wish that I am not a twin because it gets really annoying. But he is my brother, so I just have to deal with it.

Mom says there is a special connection between me and him, because we are the only children born with one parent endowed and other "normal".

It's like yin and yang.

Sun and moon.

And we have to balance out the peace and the violence. It's like a second ability. 

Me and Jackson wandered around dad's study. It was really neat. I was looking at dad's notes when Jackson called me over.

"Li!" He shouted. "I found something!"

I hurried to the bookshelf and found Jackson holding a thick leather book. It was very dusty and the gold letters on the cover was fading. 

I squinted at the letters. "Children of the Red Knight." 

"What's special about it?" I asked, brushing off the dust with my hands. Jackson sneezed. 

"Look closer." Jackson said. 

"Tale of the Endowed." My eyes widened. " It must be about 'our kind'!" 

Jackson nodded and took the book. He flipped to the first page. The page shows a family tree. At the bottom of the family tree, I saw me and Jackson's name. And there was our abilities underneath it. 

"What the..." Jackson pointed at mom's name. "What is a seer?" 

"A seer is like someone who can predict the future." I replied. 

"According to this family tree, the Red Knight had 6 children, which means there must be more of us out there!" Jackson remarked. 

"Our family comes from the Red Knight's youngest daughter, Beatrice." I added. "She can bewitch clothes." 

"Nasty." Jackson shivered. 

"But why didn't mom and dad told us there would be more of us out there?" I said. 

"Here's the reason." Jackson answered grimly, handing me the book. It was flipped to another page. I started reading. 

 

The History Of The Red Knight 

The Red Knight was the son of the famous King Arthur. He traveled far and wide, learning and seeking magic. He soon married a beautiful princess, and they had 6 children. The Red Knight taught each of them some magic. But one day, the princess took 3 of the children and left, never to be returned. The Red Knight searched everywhere for his 3 children, but found that they had turned against him. The broken-hearted knight returned to find that the other 3 children had left, thinking that he died. So the Red Knight turned himself into a gem, hoping that one day one of his children would try to make harmony again. 

 

"Wow." I said. "That's strange."

Jackson's eyebrows were knitted together. 

"There are so many missing pieces." He said, "it doesn't make sense. I mean, how can anyone just become a gem!?" 

"The Red Knight can do magic."I reminded him. 

"The princess must had something to do with it." Jackson frowned. 

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, the princess must have turned the 3 children against the Red Knight." He explained. 

"How are you so sure that she went to the dark side?" I said.

Jackson shrugged. "Just a guess." I side-eyed him. 

"Should we tell mom and dad?" I asked. 

"No." He replied. I was surprised.

"Why?' I asked.

"Because we got to find the gem. I mean, the Red Knight. We got to stop this Shadow nonsense. I'm tired of being scared. I'm tired of people not doing something. We got to get revenge for dad." Jackson turned to me, with fire in his eyes. To my surprise, I agreed. I knew this was dangerous. I knew that the Shadow is out there, waiting for the chance. But I felt like I got to do this. Jackson was right, someone got to do something. 

And that's when the danger began. 

Not a lot of people know the Shadow's real name is James. James Smith. He hated how he had a common first and last name. He wanted to shed his old past. He want people to speak of him in fear, not of mockery and hatred. James grew up without love: his parents died in a car crash and he was sent to an orphanage, a place that he hated.

James was a cunning boy. He can charm all the students and please all the teachers. He was a prefect and head boy. Teachers boast that James was going to be part of the government, that he was going to achieve something in life. Everyone were shocked when James wanted to be a blacksmith. "A talent wasted" they said.

A few years later, James disappeared to learn dark magic. When he emerged, no one recognised him as the boy who gets A+ on every test. His soul was ripped apart, so that he can only feel hatred. He gave himself a new name: The Shadow.

The Shadow satisfied his own hunger and revenge by killing people. He first makes them suffer until they beg for mercy, then kill them. He threatened to kill people's families if they don't do what he wanted. It was dark times, no one know who to trust anymore: anyone can be a traitor. But everyone was so scared, that no one had the courage to stop him, and that's when my dad and uncle Henry comes in. 

 

So there you go, my second chapter. Sorry I have not updated for so long! I will try to update faster!


	3. Endowed

Life was already hard enough for me, Jackson and mom. Without dad, mom is rarely home. But when me and Jackson's endowment showed itself, mom started teaching us how to control it (mostly Jackson's, because it turns out that I can only feel certain clothes, which is a relief to me). 

Jackson enjoyed his ability, using it to piss me off. He would annoy me by blowing my science essay around the room when he perfectly know that it is due tomorrow. 

Meanwhile, I did not enjoy my ability. But little did I know that it would become useful for finding mom. 

People tend to go missing on my birthday.

Which is a bummer.

And being stuck in the back of a truck is also a bummer. 

Like most things in life. 

☘ Few days ago ☘ 

"Mom!" I called out. Funny. Mom is usually home when I come back from homework club. Jackson hurried down the stairs. 

"I thought you were mom." He said. " I've been waited for her for few hours ago now." 

"Maybe mom had an extra shift."I suggested.

" Cross that option. She has a shift yesterday." Jackson rolled his eyes. I sticked my tongue out at him and he made a face back.

I fiddled with my necklace. Mom had given it to me for my 12th birthday. The day when I got my ability."Mom has never been this late before." I was worried. What if something happened to her?!?!

"I have an idea." Jackson smirked. " How about let's just sleep on it."

"Hahaha." I replied sarcastically. "How funny." 

He glanced at the clock. It was 10 :00. Way past our bedtime. " Maybe when we wake up mom will be there, making breakfast." 

I yawned. I wasn't fully convinced but I don't have another other ideas then to sleep. So I did. 

 

When I woke up, I looked beside my bed. Everyday before work, mom would put a note there, usually a reminder or a note. I kept all of them. I was disappointed when I saw the empty desk. Then I remember what happened last night. I sighed and slumped back into my pillow. 

What if mom gone missing?

Who's gonna take care of us?

Why?

How?

Hundreds of questions raced around my brain and I find it hard to go back to sleep again. I was so lost in my thought that I didn't hear my bedroom door creak open. 

"BOO!" 

"AHHHHHHHH!" I screamed. My heartbeat slowed down when I saw Jackson rolling on the floor, laughing and clutching his stomach.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" I fumed, throwing my book at him. It hit him on the face and he moaned.

"Ha! You deserved it!" I laughed. Jackson gave me a poker face, then he grabbed my pillow and threw it at me. And then we started throwing things at each other, then it developed into a furious pillow fight, which Jackson almost smashed my lamp into pieces. We started laughing like mad. 

When we stopped giggling, there was an awkward silence. But I felt my lips were still tugged up into a grin and Jackson's face was light up. 

"Is mom back yet?" I asked, although I already knew the answer.

"No." The light has gone out in Jackson's eyes. "I checked..."

He was silent.

"What?" I replied.

"Every trace of her is gone. Mom's jewellery, clothes, photos... vanished." Jackson gulped, " but there is this note." He handed me a crumpled piece of parchment. I opened it. It was empty.

"Is this some sort of joke?" I glared at him.

"Look closer." Jackson looked dead serious. 

I squinted and made out few of the words, which was hard because it looks like someone has spilled coffee or something on it. The words were written in messy cursive and the paper gave off a strange musty smell and makes me feel nauseous. 

" Meet...me...at....ten at...Red Knight palace...something....talk about...or else...the twins will...suffer...Marinette...your family...is in danger." I read aloud.

" It is doesn't make sense!" I shouted, exasperated. 

"Yes it does." Jackson replied quietly. I stared at him. He stared back at me.

"How? Mr.Smarty Pants." I asked in a really annoying voice. 

" Well, I searched it up on my phone. The Red Knight Palace is real. It use be a real castle, but now it is just a really old museum full of art." Answered Jackson. 

"Wow." I was surprised. Jackson hated research so he is really bad at it. Speaking of the word 'Red Knight', I think I heard of it before. Suddenly, a lightbulb went on in my head.

"Wait for me here!" I shouted at Jackson and I ran into dad's study. I searched the bookshelf for that book.

"Aha!" I cried, holding up 'Children of the Red Knight'. Holding the book to my chest, I ran back into my bedroom. When I barged in, I saw Jackson holding the photo of the whole family together in the park. I can feel my eyes water and I saw a tear roll down Jackson's cheek. Then he stood up, and hugged me, tight. I hugged him back. 

We lost mom and dad. But we still got each other. 

 

I know this is a short chapter but I will try to make my next one longer!


	4. The Light In The Dark

Let's go over the evidence." I suggested. 

" The note says meet me at ten at Red Knight palace... then there's something that I cannot read... talk about...or else the twins will suffer...Marinette...your family is in danger." Jackson read aloud.

" We know the Red Knight Palace is a real place. That's a starting point." I said, try to be optimistic, although I find it hard in a situation like this. 

"Well, we know we are in danger." Continued Jackson. He rolled his eyes. I giggled. "Pretty obvious."

" And that who-ever sent the note knows mom, because mom changed her name to Marie after she meet dad." Jackson added. 

" I'm pretty sure the twins they are talking about is us." I gulped. Jackson nodded grimly.

" Who-ever send the note is threatening mom." My voice was shaky, because somehow I felt like it was my fault, that mom put herself in danger because of us. 

Then I remembered what she said the night before she vanished.

"Honey bun?" Said mom. "You would forgive me if I left you guys, right." I remember staring at her and wondering why in the world would she ask that. 

"Of course mom." I replied. "But why would you leave us in the first place?"

Mom sighed. "Sometimes people have to do the wrong thing for the right reasons." I was puzzled. 

"What are you talking about, mom?" Jackson had asked her.

" You will understand one day." Mom answered. Which isn't the response I was expecting.Then she hugged me and Jackson extra tight as she kissed us on the forehead.

" You know that I love you, right?" Mom muttered, caressing my cheek. 

" I love you always."

"To the moon and back."

 

It was dark, and I was scared. I remember mom caressing my cheek and tears started falling. I tried to (but failed) hold them back because I knew if any more fell out, it would be hard to stop. I sniffed as my door creaked. A breeze followed, making lose papers float around the room. 

Jackson poked his head in. 

"Hi." He said awkwardly. 

"Guess the wind was from you." I snapped. 

"Geez, why are you so stormy today." Jackson teased. I didn't reply. 

" Were you crying?" He mocked.

"No." I replied, still glaring at him.

"But your eyes are red." This time, he wasn't mocking me, he just sounded generally concerned. I whimpered in reply. 

"Can I come in?" Jackson asked. 

"No." I stated. Because I wasn't in the mood to let someone see me cry. Then I heard him drag his slippers down the hallway.

There was a scary silence. 

The sudden darkness swallowed me and I felt very small and scared. I wished that Jackson had stayed. Then I heard someone dragging something down the hallway, instead of the sound becoming softer, it was getting louder.

The door opened, revealing Jackson with his mattress and pillow. I've never been so glad to see him.

" What are you doing here?" I asked, even though I know the answer.

" I decided you needed comfort, so here I am." He replied, putting his pillow next to mine. I had the sudden urge to hug him. 

" Thanks...brother." I grinned as I helped Jackson put his mattress on my bed. He gave me a weird look because I never called him brother. (Jackson was older then me by a few minutes) 

I noticed something silver in his hand."What is that?"

"Mom gave it to me. I take it where ever I go."

The first thing I saw when I woke up is Jackson's face. His thumb was close to his face so that he looks like a baby. I smiled and notice that I had Jackson's blanket draped over me. I saw how Jackson was curled into a ball, cold. So I carefully placed the mattress over him and fell back into sleep. I haven't slept this well ever since dad disappeared. 

For once, I was glad Jackson was in my life. 

 

Please leave kudos!


	5. Red Knight Palace

" We are going to the Red Knight Palace." Announced Jackson when I was making breakfast. I stared at him. It had been six days since mom disappeared. 

" We can take mom's wallet. Then we use the money to ride a bus, or a taxi, to the Red Knight Palace. Then we buy the tickets and try to find clues about where mom is." Continued Jackson, who was ignoring my glare.

" What if we failed? What if we never found the clues and mom disappeared forever?" I asked. I was scared that this was not going to work because we are on the verge of losing everything. Jackson is basically the only thing I have left. And he means the world to me. So which means that this quest is going to put our lives in danger. It's either fail or succeed. And if we start, there's no turning back.

As if he read my mind (which sometimes can happen because we are twins after all) he said, " We are not making any progress sitting here. If we waited for too long, then mom..." I don't need Jackson to finish his sentence. We both knew the consequences.

A nervous breeze blew, scattering pencils everywhere. 

"What if it is already too late?" I replied.

"We're not." Jackson said in a tone so determined that I actually believed him for a second. 

" Let me go get mom's purse." He added. Then Jackson ran into the living room. I went up to my bedroom and started packing the stuff we need for the trip. I packed all the t-shirts and pants that I own (which wasn't a lot) and I packed around three towels with underwears and socks. I also threw in some jackets and blankets (hey, who knows if we are coming back?) and all the money that I have (around a few hundreds). I also packed my flashlight, notebook and pen. After looking around the room and adding more stuff, I was satisfied so I decided to go and check up on Jackson. 

After putting all our money together, we had around a thousand. That was a lot and enough to last for a few days. Jackson packed a knapsack that has bottles of water and food. I wanted to bring my book about fairy tales but I knew that it would just add to the weight. I added two small pillows and toiletries to the bag with all the money. I stuffed my phone in my pocket with a picture of me, Jackson, mom and dad. Jackson had the Children Of The Red Knight book in his hands and I locked the door.

The doorknob was cold in my hands. 

Goodbye.

You never appreciate someone or something until its gone and you finally realise how important it really was. 

A few hours later... 

"Where are we?" I asked Jackson.

"Somewhere." He replied curtly. Me and Jackson has decided to walk to the Red Knight Palace, to save money. It was a good 49 minutes walk. I had a map in my hand but the map was useless because I don't have a clue where we are. Mom and dad rarely took us out, because they were too busy. So me and Jackson felt like tourists in a strange unfamiliar land. 

"Are we lost?" I said. I was considering asking someone for directions, but that would raise questions (because we are 13 years old and it looks like we are running away from home). 

"Nope. I just lost sense of direction." Jackson took out his phone.

"So in other words, we're lost." I glared at him. " I thought you knew where the Red Knight Palace was!" 

Jackson didn't reply, he was busy typing on his phone. 

"Jackson! Now's is not the time to play video games!" I yelled, exasperated.

He waved his phone in my face." Look. I used the GPS, apparently we are very close." Jackson had a pleased looked on his face and I was very annoyed. 

We followed the GPS for a while. 

"Look!" Jackson yelled. The Red Knight Palace stood majestically as the afternoon sun shone brightly down at it, giving it an even more ancient look. The Palace was made entirely out of stone. There was a few cracks in the walls and ivy and moss was growing on the stone. 

Here's the hard part, we have to get in without anyone suspecting us. 

Jackson stepped up to the counter, where a fat beefy man sat. The man glared at us. I pulled Jackson back. 

"Are you insane? That guy is going to suspect us. We not old enough and it says children below 16 has to have a adult with them." I hissed.

"Just go with the flow." Jackson replied quietly. 

"Excuse me, can we buy two tickets?" Jackson asked. I got a feeling that this is not going to end up well.

"Do you have an guardian accompanying you?" The man asked, squinting his eyes at us. I froze. 

"We...we...," I began but nothing came out. I panicked. 

Jackson looked around and laughed. "Silly me. I forgot we are coming with our grandmother."

"We are?" I asked. Jackson rolled his eyes and gestured to a old woman sitting in a wheelchair all by herself. Her white hair was tied up into a very neat bun and she somberly stared at the floor as she held a small pink purse. 

"I mean, we are," I added, nervously smiling. Mom could always tell if I was lying. I gulped. 

"Make it three ticket." Jackson continued. 

"That's your grandmother?" The man asked. 

"Yes, that's Granny..." My mouth was dry. 

"Granny Rose!" Jackson burst out, a little too loudly. I could tell the man wasn't convinced.

"Granny Rose doesn't know how to speak english, so we are buying the tickets." I said, hoping that the man would buy my lie. Jackson waved energetically at the elderly woman. 

"Just one more minute, Gran!" Jackson called out. The old woman looked rather confused but she in the end she waved back with a friendly smile. She also appeared to be a little senile, which was working in our favor. 

Jackson payed the man and he looked at the old woman and handed me the tickets. I carefully folded them and stuffed them in my pocket. We walked quickly from counter. I glanced over my shoulders and saw the man suspiciously staring at us. 

"He's watching us; what do we do?" I whispered. 

"Grab the old lady and get in the castle, I guess." Jackson replied. 

"We can't kidnap an old woman!" I exclaimed. 

"What other option do we have?" Jackson hissed. "Plus, I won't call that kidnapping, we are just borrowing her for a while." 

So we walked over to the Rose (as we have christened her) and leaned down. 

"Um...hello...would you mind doing us a favor?" I asked quietly, hoping the man won't hear. I turned my head, he was still watching us. 

Rose stared blankly back at me. My lie was true-she didn't know a lick of english. 

"Would you like to see some paintings?" Jackson said. Rose blinked a couple of times, causing her head to move slightly.

" I think that count as a nod-grab her and let's go!" Jackson whispered.

I grasped the handles of Rose's wheelchair and I pushed her to the entrance of the Palace. We handed the guard our tickets and wheeled Rose in. Rose seems like she was enjoying it and she had a smile plastered on her face.

I felt really guilty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos!


	6. Chapter 6

Me and Jackson decided to leave Rose near a painting with ducks swimming in a pond for a while and we walked around to find clue. The Palace was not as big as I thought but there were paintings everywhere. 

"Where should we start?" I asked. Jackson shrugged. 

"Wait, take out the Red Knight book!" I yelled. Jackson's eye widened and he scrambled through his backpack.

He presented it with flourish."Voila!" I grabbed it and flipped to the part about the Red Knight Palace. I gestured Jackson to sit next to me on a bench. 

The Red Knight Palace

The Red Knight Palace is perhaps one of the most well made building in that period. The Red Knight had requested the entire palace to be made of stone, so that it would not catch on fire that easily. The palace had a secret passage that lead to the Red Knight's chambers...

 

The rest of the page was torn as this is a very old book. 

"Aha!" The clue must be in the Red Knight's chambers." Concluded Jackson.

"Way ahead of you there, Jacky." I smirked as Jackson pouted, pretending to be hurt. 

I looked around and found a gift shop. There were a pile of maps and brochures on the counter. I asked the woman if I could have one. She peered at me over the top of her blue coffee cup and nodded. I thanked her and took a few. I turned around and found myself facing a boy. 

"Sorry." I muttered. He was too close for comfort. 

"It's okay." He replied, backing off. Now that I could see him, he looked sort of cute. The boy had pale skin and black hair and eyes. When he smile, dimples showed. 

"My name is Roy. Nice to meet you." Roy said, holding out his hand. I shook it and introduced myself.

"What brought you here?" Roy asked politely. I hesitated. I don't want to give to much information but me and Jackson were stuck.

"Umm... me and my brother are looking for something."I revealed. 

"Like what?" Roy smiled again. I was suspicious, he was being too noisy. But oh well, why not. Suddenly, an idea struck me. 

"Roy, do you know a place where people like to talk...in secret...here?" I said, trying not to give away too many hints. 

"Yes I do. But you have to promise that you will tell no one about this." Roy solemnly looked at me. I was squirming under his stare. 

"Fine... but can my brother come with me?" I replied. 

"If your brother can keep the promise." Answered Roy. 

"I'm sure he can." I assured him. We walked over to Jackson. Jackson glared at us. 

"Who is he?" Jackson asked, his voice dripping with venom. 

"I'm Roy, it's a pleasure to meet you."Said Roy, sticking his hand out. Jackson glared at it as if it was poisonous. He pulled me aside.

"Li! What were you thinking?! He might be bad or something. Don't tell me he did something to you!" I stared at Jackson in horror. 

"Why would he do something to me?" I exclaimed.

Jackson went crimson. "Well, you're better looking than other girls..." 

I patted him on the back. "Thanks for the compliment, but I didn't tell Roy that we are trying to mind mom and dad. I only told him we are looking for something. And that we are trying to find a place where people meet up for meetings. That's all." Jackson stared at me as if doesn't believe me. 

"Fine. I asked him if he know a place where people can talk in secret." I admitted. 

Jackson tiled his head.

"Look, Jackson, this is too big for us to handle alone now. We need help. We have to trust him, because he is our only hope left." I whisper-yelled. "We are running out of time, so why not try this opportunity?" 

Jackson looked stunned for a few second, then nodded mutely.

I dragged him back to Roy and smiled. Awkward. Jackson glared at Roy and he "accidentally" let lose a burst of wind. 

I nervously smiled. "Wow...the wind sure is strong today!" 

Oh God. 

I must be the worst liar in the world. I poked Jackson.

"What was that for?!" I hissed. 

"Well, he deserved it." Jackson muttered back. 

"So, are you guys ready?" Roy asked, interrupting me and Jackson's furious staring contest.

Jackson looked at me and we said yes at the same time. Roy had a poker face and we all burst out laughing. 

Roy leaded us through dark hallways, then bright passages, and dim tunnels. Finally, we reached a wooden door. 

"Why is this door wood, not like the rest of the castle?" Jackson said under his breath, louder than he intended it to be. 

"Because this is the Red Knight's chamber." Replied Roy. Then he proudly took out a key from his pocket and inserted it inside the keyhole.

"Wait." Said Jackson, his eyes narrowing, "why do you have the key?" 

"Because my dad is one of the founders of this museum. It was his idea to open it to public." There was an noticeable hint of pride in Roy's tone. He opened the door.

"After you, my lady." Roy bowed. Jackson scowled darkly. I sighed and curtsied politely to Roy. He beamed and urged Jackson inside. 

The hall was filled with thousand of candles, with unique patterns carved onto the wall. The whole room has a pearly shine to it. 

"It's beautiful..." I mused. 

"Just like you." Muttered Roy quietly. 

"What's that?" I asked, although I heard him perfectly. 

Roy blushed. "Nothing." There seems to be a permanent frown on Jackson's face now. He pulled me closer. 

"What are you doing?" I whispered. 

"I don't like that guy." Replied Jackson. 

"Of course you don't. Plus, he's nice to me, not like you." I hissed. Jackson was silent. Roy continued talking about the room, not aware of the glares that Jackson was sending him. If looks can kill, then Roy would be dead multiple times already. 

"Not a lot of people knows about this room." Said Roy.

"Our mom and dad are missing." Jackson blurted out suddenly. Me and Roy stared at him in surprise. Roy patted him on the arm and Jackson didn't filch away. His eyes were watery and he excused himself from the room. It was awkward again. 

"So... why didn't you tell me you are trying to find your mom and dad?" Roy asked, concerned. 

"Well, we want this mission to be quiet." I explained, sugercoating the truth. Jackson returned to the room, his eyes being a bit red. He sniffed. 

"I guess I should leave you guys some alone time." Said Roy, handing me the key. "Just lock the doors when you come out. I should be in the gift store with my dad." 

I took the key and grinned. "Thanks, you've been great help." 

"Thank you." Muttered Jackson. He gave Roy's shoulder a tight squeeze. 

"Wait... here's something for you." Said Roy shyly. He took out a handkerchief from him pocket. "Keep this, okay?"

I smiled and nodded. I quickly stuffed it in my bag before my endowment can take over. 

"Bye Liona, bye..." Roy paused. 

"Jackson." Jackson smiled. "I've never introduced myself, have I?" 

"Bye Jackson." Called Roy, closing the door. 

"So?" I raised my eyebrows.

"What?" Asked Jackson, not meeting my eyes. 

I smacked him. "You know what I am talking about."

"Yah....he's a nice guy." I was expecting more, but that will do. We looked around the room. Me and Jackson were beginning to lose hope. The castle is about to close and I have to return the key to Roy. Just when we are going to stop searching, something caught my eye. It was a crumpled piece of pink paper. My heart froze. On top of the paper has the logo of the hospital mom works in. There was messy cursive in green ink. Mom only writes in green ink because she believes it will bring good luck. Apparently, it didn't.

My body tensed when I read the note to Jackson. "He1p 0n House. Street 9." 

Jackson scratched his head. "Huh?"

He is really slow on the uptake. 

"See it?" I said, jabbing the paper with my finger.

"See what?" Jackson asked, confused.

"There!"

"Where?"

"There!"

"Where?"

I gave up and pointed to the word He1p. "See, look. Mom spelt help with a one." Then I pointed to the word 0n. "Mom spelt on with a zero. So house 10 on street 9." 

Jackson finally got it. "Then what are we waiting for. Let's go there." 

"Jackson." I nudged him. "I got a feeling something is wrong." He didn't reply. 

"Hello? Earth to Jacky?" I called, waving my hand in his face. I only call him Jacky when I was annoyed with him because I knew Jackson hate nicknames, although he has lots for me. 

The driver announced our stop and Jackson paid him. Then we walked at a fast pace down the street. The numbers were blurs. 

House 14

House 13

House 12

House 11

House 10. Jackson stopped abruptly. He held my hand. My hand was clammy and cold, like his. I shivered. 

"Do you think we are doing the right thing?" I asked.

"Well, it doesn't really matter because we've gone too far and there's no turning back now." Jackson said, all in one breath. 

His face broke into a wide grin, "but you have to admit, this is pretty awesome. Wait till my friends hear about this!" I gave him a you-know-it look.

"I know...I know..." Jackson laughed. I pinched his nose and giggled. 

When we finally stopped laughing, the silence loomed over us. 

Jackson rang the doorbell, causing a eerie sound, like a cat howling. 

'What did you ring the doorbell for?' I mouthed. 

Jackson tried to defend himself. 'What else do you expect?!' 

The door slowly creaked open. I pushed the door so that the gap is wider. The door shows a dark hallway. A gust of wind breezed past, brushing my hair against my face. I couldn't tell if it was from Jackson or the house itself. The hallway had a glooming feeling to it, and it chilled me to the bones. I can hear something scattering like mice then it was oddly quiet. Cobwebs hanged around the walls and there was mold on the old dusty floor. 

"Should we go in?" I squeaked, breaking the deadly silence. 

"I guess so." Even Jackson's voice was uncertain. The old house looks like no body had lived here in years. The hallway seems to go on forever. I accidentally stepped on a lose piece of wooden floor and it creaked. I screamed in fear and jumped. Jackson had a grin but it faded away. 

"Are you sure we had the right address?" I asked, my voice trembling. I was panicking. I just really wanted to get out of this creepy old house as fast as possible. 

"I hope." Jackson replied, him voice echoing. 

I tried to look and sound brave. "We have no choice, do we?" 

He saw me shiver. "Let's go in. Think of mom and dad, waiting to be saved." Then I had a horrible image of mom and dad getting tortured, with blood coming out. 

I gasped. "Let's do it." 

Jackson, knowing that I was afraid of dark, took my hands. I was very graceful for the extra warmth. I will thank him later when I was less afraid. Jackson bravely took a step forward, and I followed him. I can hear my breathing and my heartbeat rang in my head. 

I glanced at my watch. It was almost 11 o' clock. It was late was fear kept me awake. I was hungry because me and Jackson only had a sandwich and an apple for dinner. 

The howl rang through the house again. The hallway never seems to reach an end. I swear me and Jackson had been walking for more then five minute now and we still haven't seen a single door. 

"How big is this house?" Jackson muttered. I was getting worried. 

"Maybe we should go back." I suggested. But too late, we already came to a door. I grasped the handle. It was very cold in my sweaty palms and it almost slipped our of my hands. Jackson gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze and smiled. I slowly turned the knob. 

Jackson pushed the door open. My throat was too so dry to make a sound. The room was ancient and had a strange musty smell, like your grandmother's old wardrobe. 

The room was mainly empty, with a large bookshelf taking up most of the space. By the corner, there was a cracked mirror. I stood in front of it. 

I looked like a mess. My hair was all tangled up and my lips were chapped. I had bags under my eyes. I took out my hairbrush and started re-doing my ponytail. Jackson silently creeped up on me. I didn't notice the mirror changing because I was so busy tying my hair. 

Jackson pointed at the mirror. "Look!" 

Words were forming on it. 

I show your deepest fears...

"No!" I gasped. Too late, the mirror was already changing again and my feets were rooted to the spot. I could only watch in horror as the mirror turned black and two evil red slits stared at me. I couldn't help but scream. 

"Li!" Someone was shaking me. It was Jackson. I started crying. Jackson hugged me and rubbed my back. He said soothing words to me, calming me down. 

"It's okay..." 

After I stopped sobbing, we looked at the bookshelf. I got a feeling that there is a important clue hiding there. 

Jackson pulled out a book. It was Alice in Wonderland. "Look! This is your favourite story!" Then something strange happened. The bookshelf, well, how do you describe it, sort of fell apart. More like folded into the walls actually. Then a hole opened in the middle of the room and sucked us in. 

"HEEEEELLLLLPPPPPPP!" I screamed, desperate to grab onto anything. I saw a blur of Jackson's blue polo and everything went dark. 

When I woke up, I felt very dizzy. When I opened my eyes again, I saw a brightly lit room. I turned my head and saw Jackson sleeping peacefully next to me. I was sleeping on a mattress softer than the softest of llama wool. 

"WhereamI?" Jackson mumbled, sitting up. 

"I don't know." I replied, rubbing my eyes. 

"You are at the meeting room of the S.P.A.C.E." A voice answered.

I turned around and found myself facing a woman. She was rather pretty, but she was quite old, and had wrinkles on her forehead and a headful of white hair. I thought I saw her before.

"Wait...Granny Rose?" Jackson shrieked. 

"Rose?" Asked the lady. 

"We saw you at the Red Knight Palace!" I shouted, louder than I intended it to. 

The lady smiled. "Ah yes... I received orders from Marinette that I must keep an eye on you two." 

"Mom told you?" Jackson asked. "Where is she? Why? Is she hurt? Is dad alive? How?" He was about to asked another question when the lady shushed him.

"Quiet child, one question at a time. But first, I must introduce myself. My name is Luna, but you may call me Rose if you really want to..." She winked at Jackson. "And I am the secretary for S.P.A.C.E." 

"What's S.P.A.C.E.?" I burst out. 

"Hang on, kiddo, I was getting to that." Luna laughed. "S.P.A.C.E. is a secret society that tries to help people who are the victims of the Shadow, or other villain. But S.P.A.C.E. is just a branch from S.V.I, which stands for Secret Villian Investigation." 

"Cool! But, what does this has to do with mom and dad?" Jackson asked. 

"Marinette and Edward one of S.P.A.C.E.'s best scientists! And I was their mentor! " Luna replied, a hint of pride in her voice. "I remember how Edward would always put pepper and salt with other stuff into my coffee to see what happens!" We laughed. 

"Can you tell us more about S.P.A.C.E.?" I said, curious to know more.

"S.P.A.C.E. was founded by my great-grandfather, Jacob, and he was horrified by the damage caused villians. And the villians we are talking about is not the kind that bombs buildings and kill people with guns, the baddies we are talking about is the ones that can do magic, and curses and are dangerous and hard to stop." Luna shivered. "Those were dark days, no one knows who to trust, so Jacob tried to form people who have magical abilities, and then he met your grandfather, Karry, who made S.P.A.C.E. More and more people joined, including normal people who just wanted to help."

"But why didn't mom and dad tell us about S.P.A.C.E.?" Jackson shouted.

"Because Marinette and Edward felt like it would put you two in danger. She was going to tell you when you guys developed your endowments, but then Edward went missing and she decided to hold it off a bit. Because she can't tell you, I did." Luna gave me a sandwich. "You must be hungry, my assistant Bella will show you the rooms, and save those questions for tomorrow." 

Then she leaned down towards me and whispered, "We will find your mom. She loved you two to bits. Marinette's a fighter, and she will do everything to get back to you guys." Then with a swish of her coat, Luna just simply vanished. My brain was pounding with unanswered questions and information so I didn't notice a woman appeared behind me. 

"Hello! My name is Bella! And I am pretty sure Ms.Dupin talked to you about S.P.A.C.E." Bella looked like she was around 25, and she had glossy auburn hair tied up into a messy bun. Bella had rainbow glasses and endless amount of energy. She chatted the whole way to our rooms and handed us some bottles of water. 

After Bella left, I finally got the chance to look around the room properly. The whole room was a pale shade of purple and most of the furniture is made of white wood. I unpacked all my clothes and stuffed them into the closet. I took the crumpled photo of mom and dad and putted it on the table beside my bed. Then I took a shower and changed into fresh clothes. I swiftly put my toiletries beside the sink and opened the door. I wandered down the hallway and stopped in front of Jackson's room. His room was a deep shade of blue (navvy) and the furniture was made of dark cherry wood. I saw Jackson sleeping peacefully on his bed. I smiled and took off my jacket, draping it around him. Then I tip-toed across the room and closed the door. 

I flopped down onto the bed and took decided to take a catnap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos!


	7. Dark Secrets

"I can't believe mom and dad kept this from us for all those years!" Jackson cried.

"Me too. Everything is like a dream." I mused, staring at a strange plant that has star shaped petals. Luna (aka Ms.Dupin) has decided to take us on a tour, with Bella following behind her. Bella was feverishly scribbling down notes. 

"This is so awesome!" Said Jackson, his eye shining. I haven't seen Jackson so happy in a long time. I noticed how nice his dimples looks when he smiled. I noticed a lot of things about Jackson that I didn't before. I guess part of it is because I never took the time to know the real him, and part of it is that I never really cared. Now I realised how important Jackson was to me. He was always there when I needed him. Even though he teases me, he was always there to cheer me up. And now, I try to be a good sister and try my best to understand him better. I couldn't life without Jackson. He took up most of my memories and childhood, and now that I thought of it, he was there when I had my happiest and most depressing moments. 

I frowned, remembering one conversation mom had with dad in the kitchen. They didn't know I was there eavesdropping. 

"Edward, we can't keep it from them forever." Mom said in a faint voice. 

I can picture mom frowning. Then I hear shuffling."Maybe they aren't ready." Dad replied.

"But they will know sooner or later." Mumbled mom.

I pressed my ear to the keyhole to hear better. "Mari, the less they know the less danger they are in." Soothed dad.

"Fine. We could wait a few months." I heard footsteps coming closer and I spinned around, crashing into Jackson. 

I grabbed his arm and pulled him upstairs."Run!" 

Jackson grinned. "Race you to my room!"

 

"Hello, earth to Liona!" Said Jackson, waving his hand in my face.

"What?!" I asked, annoyed. 

"Frowns don't look good on your pretty little face." He replied, pinching my checks. I slapped his hand away. Then I realised we were in a hallway of photos.

"This is Marinette and Edward." Luna smiled, glancing at one of the photos. Mom and dad looked really young. Mom still had long hair up to her waist and she had a huge grin on her face. Dad, meanwhile, was busy staring at mom, and you can tell that he was blushing. They were standing in front of an gigantic telescope. 

"This is your dad and his friend Harry." Continued Luna. Dad had a big grin and he drapped his arms around this guy with blond hair. I assumed the blondie must be Harry. I don't like the look of him, and he had a suspicious looking smirk. 

"Who is this Harry guy?" Blurted Jackson, who was just as curious as I am.

"Harry was on of our most brilliant scientists. Years ago, your dad and Harry were best of friends and always worked together. Then he ran off with the results of a extremely important research that he and Edward had worked on her months. He betrayed S.V.I. and gave all the information about us to the Shadow, so we had no choice but to move. S.P.A.C.E. lost faith in Harry, but we kept track of him. Harry travels the world, seeking mysterious cases so that he can exploit for him own personal gain." Luna no longer has the kindness in her soft blue eyes and her voice was harsh. She looked thoughtful for a while, lost in her mind when Bella softly tapped her on the shoulder. 

"Ms.Dupin? I think the children should go back to their rooms." Bella said.

"Hmm? Yes, the children. I think they should get some rest." Replied Luna, not really listening. 

"Do you need me to accompany you?" Bella asked, tucking her pen on her ear.

"No thanks." Yelled Jackson, dragging me by my sweater. 

"What?" I asked. Jackson didn't reply and instead pushed me inside his room. Then he put the knapsack on the bed and started throwing stuff out. 

"Aha." Shouted Jackson, triumphantly holding up a book. I peered oven his shoulders. I gasped. 

"This is the photo album!" I covered my mouth, "I thought mom threw it away because it reminded her of dad so much!"

"Well, I took it out of the trash and brought it to my room. I look through it every night." Said Jackson. Then he flipped to the first page.

"Hey, that's us when we were just born!" I cried. We looked so ugly, our tiny faces scrunched up. 

Jackson laughed, "I always thought you looked uglier." I pinched his nose but I couldn't think of a good comeback. 

The next photo was when we were babies, I was dressed in pink and I had sticked my tongue out. Jackson was sitting in dad's lap and he looked like he was about to burst into tears.

"Hey Jackson, you looked like dad was going to eat you!" I teased. 

"Well, I was making mental prepare plan in case if he was!" Protested Jackson, "at least it doesn't look like my tongue is falling out!" 

"Don't over-exaggerate!" I yelled, tickling him. Jackson rolled around, trying to slap my hand away.

"It was a fact, not an statement!" 

I raised my eyebrows. "Say that again!" 

"Nothing!" Then we burst into giggles. We looked at more photos ("You looked really stupid in that photo!") with more insults ("I can do better than that!") and comebacks ("Oh yeah, let's see you try, if you're so smart, which you're not."). Then we came across a photo of dad and someone. Someone had scribbled with black marker over the other person, but you can still be green eyes and dirty blond hair. 

"Probably Harry the Horrible." Jackson mumbled. I couldn't help but giggle. Harry's green eyes pierced into me. It looks like he could stare into my soul. I shivered. It was a unpleasant thought and I rather not think of it again. 

"I just realised that we ditched Luna in the palace."Jackson mused. I laughed. Jackson's humor never fail to amuses me.

"But I still feel a bit mad at mom and dad for not trusting us." I said. 

"Well, they wanted us to be safe." Jackson pointed out. We talked a bit more until we were both tired.

"Do you want to sleep in my room?"Jackson asked.

"Sure." Because why not?

I went to my room to fetch my pillow and climbed in his bed. It was very cosy. Suddenly, I thought of Roy, and I blushed.

"Li, are you okay?" Jackson said.

"What?!" 

"Your face is a bit red. Like a tomato." Jackson replied, pinching my cheek. 

"Thanks for the simile."

"Your welcome." He grinned. My thought wandered back to Roy. Is this what people call "crush"? Because I never really liked a boy (not including Jackson) before, this is new. Do every girl have a crush? Do Roy like me? When will I see him again? 

Me and Jackson pursued Luna, bombing her with questions. She rarely answers them, at most giving us a curt nod and a short reply. Luna refused to look at us when we asked if they found anything new about where are parents are. Then she disappeared for the rest of the day. It seems like she was purposely trying to hide from us. Even Bella seems to be avoiding us. 

Days past, and there is still no news. I figured that either S.P.A.C.E. is not trying hard enough or that they can't find anything. Soon, me and Jackson are restless and hungry for information. Precious time is ticking past and nothing is done. 

"Do you think that we should go?" I asked. He stared at me. I mimed running away by using my fingers. 

"But, don't you think we should give S.P.A.C.E. more time?" He replied uncertainly.

"But we don't have anymore time!" I almost screamed.

Time is a strange thing.

You can't see it, you can't feel it. It's invisible.

Time is limited, but it is forever. Time goes on without you. It can silently count down on you, until you don't have much time left, you realise how short time is. 

Time is priceless. We are running out of time. I silently started to pack my bags. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jackson doing it too. 

"You're right." I heard Jackson. "We already waited too long." He grinned. 

"Ready to run away again?" I smiled. 

"Yah. We're pro at this."

 

"Um, Jackson, we have a problem here. Where are we suppose to go?" I asked.

"Well, I thought you know." Jackson replied.

"I thought you knew!"

"You were the one suggesting us to run away after all!" Jackson pointed at me.

"So blaming it on me, huh?" 

"It was your fault!" 

"Let's eat."

"What?" Jackson stared at me.

"I said, let's eat. I'm hungry." He nodded. We walked over to a hotdog stand. 

Jackson bumped into someone. "Sorry!" 

"Jackson?! Liona?! What are you guys doing here?!" Roy cried. 

I side-eyed Jackson. He seems to calm down about Roy now. "Well, to make this story short, we went to this secret place, discovering our parents long-lost friend, along with some information and we ran away again because those people aren't doing anything and here we are, about to buy hotdogs because we are famished." Roy's mouth was opened.

"You ran away again?!" He cried. Jackson calmly nodded. 

Suddenly, I got an idea in my head. "Hey, Roy do you know a place we can stay for the night?"

Roy hesitated for a moment. "Yah."

"Where?" Jackson yelled. Lots of people stared at him. 

"Well, you can go to a hotel." Roy looked thoughtful for a moment. "But that is not the best choice though, because it's quite expensive, if you want a decent hotel." Jackson groaned and he slumped. 

Roy hesitated. "Well, I guess you can stay at my house." I was not very sure at that, but we have no other choice. 

Option 1: Stay in a hotel and waste all our precious money

Option 2: Stay at Roy's house.

Option 3: Sleep on a bench in the park

I prefer option two. Jackson doesn't look too keen on sleeping on a bench all night so we bought our hotdogs and set off to Roy's house. 

 

"Woah!" Jackson exclaimed, "this is a mansion!" 

The house was GINORMOUS, with huge glass chandeliers and fancy paintings lined across the beige coloured walls. Even the sofas look chic, with silver trimmings. The dining table was covered in a cloth with golden laces and expensive looking glass wine cups. A gigantic cabinet stood in the living room with beautiful vases and bottles inside it. Roy lead us up the stairs and the first thing we saw was a humongous pool. 

"You must we really rich!" Jackson said. Roy blushed and changed the topic to cats.

"When is your mom and dad coming home?" I asked. 

Roy bite his lips. "Well, my dad usually stays at the museum because he is so busy. My mom is a fashion designer. Right now she is in France, working with models from all around the world. So I don't..." Jackson put a hand on Roy's shoulders. Roy smiled. 

"I never get to spend time with them." Roy finished sadly. I hugged him. He seems to perk up a little. I felt really sorry for him. It must be really lonely. 

"It's okay." He grinned and showed us where the bathroom is. 

"Don't you have like, someone to take care of you?" I asked. 

"Well, sometimes my Uncle Ron pops in but no. I don't have someone to permanently look after me." Roy replied, fidgeting with his shirt.

"But how do you get food and stuff?" Jackson asked. Roy seems a bit down.

"If you don't want to answer it, you don't have to." I added.

"Sorry if I was being a bit noisy." Jackson replied. 

"You're not being noisy. You guys are just... curious. To answer your question, Jackson, my dad leave leftovers and frozen food. Sometimes I go to restaurants because frozen food taste really bad." 

Roy walked towards the door. "Ummm... guys. I have a piano class, so just hang around here in my bedroom, okay? I will come back in around a hour. Feel free to look through my toy box." Me and Jackson nodded. I waited for a few second until Roy was not within ear-shot . 

"Pssst. Jackson, do you want to make a surprise for Roy? He seems pretty down." I said.

"Yes, but, what's the surprise?" Jackson asked.

"Well, for starters, we can make dinner for him!" I replied. 

" But I don't know how to cook! Now I regret playing video games instead of watching mom make fried chicken." Jackson groaned.

"Fried chicken?" I questioned. "When was that?" 

Jackson looked through the fridge. "A long time ago." 

"Li?" He called.

"Yah?" 

"We have a problem."

"What."

"Well, there's nothing in the fridge but frozen food, a a box of spaghetti, some veggies and a jar of tomato sauce." I was stumped. What can you make with those items?

"Hey, we can make spaghetti! Remember mom always makes spaghetti on Sunday nights!" Jackson cried. 

"Yeah!"I yelled, taking out the spaghetti from the fridge. After a hour I served the spaghetti with flourish. 

Roy had him mouth full of spaghetti in his mouth. "Thanks, guys!! " (it turned out more like "fanks goys")

"No problemo." Said Jackson, and I can tell he was getting fond of Roy. I was too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos! Thank you for looking at my story!


	8. Nightmares of The Past

"Mom!" I cried. "Where are you?" 

The large crowd overwhelms me, and panic took over. "Jackson!" 

My seven year old self started to cry. Mom will come for me, I thought. I sniffed and wiped my runny nose on my pink sweater. Soon, Jackson will notice that I am gone, I convinced myself . Minutes passed. Soon, those minutes turned into hours. It felt like years have passed. Some people stopped to look at me. But they just stand there, the most is a smile. The crowd in the shopping mall was beginning to turn smaller. I was more than worried. I know I should ask someone to borrow their phone, but I was so scared and frightened. I cried and cried. Soon, the guard found me. 

"Hey kid, the mall's about to close. What are you doing here?" He asked. I only stared at him.

"Here." He replied, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket. "My name is Steve." I gingerly took the handkerchief and blew my nose. 

"Thank you." I muttered.

"Your welcome." Steve said. He looked around. "Where is your parents?" I turned away. Suddenly, something caught my eye. When I turned around, Steve was gone. He was gone without a sound...

 

I felt someone shaking me. "Nooooo." I moaned, covering my head with my pillow. 

"Li! Wake up!" Someone shouted.

"What?!" I mumbled, "leave me alone."

"It's me, Jackson." Suddenly, I broke down. 

"He's g-g-gone all b-be-cause of me." I cried into Jackson's shoulder.

"Shhhhhhh." Jackson rubbed my arm, "it's going to be all right."

I hiccuped. "Everything's wrong! S-s-s-steve is taken because of me."

"Who's Steve?" Jackson asked gently. 

I told him all about it.

"I'm sorry." Said Jackson.

"Why are you apologising?" I muttered. "It's not your fault."

"I'm not there when you need me." Jackson replied. "I'm not a good brother." 

I hugged him. "But the main point is, you are here now." 

 

After Jackson cooked some bacon and eggs, we sat in silence. Roy had left a note, explaining that he needs to go for a early photoshoot, and he says we are welcomed to explore the house.

So we did.

"This place is like a maze!" Muttered Jackson. We had spend 30 minutes trying to find our way out of the ballroom. 

When we finally found the door, we were faced with a looooooooooong hallway. Jackson randomly opened a wooden door. It was a library. It was magnificent, with two glass staircases that leads to the second floor. 

"SO MANY BOOKS!" I gasped. This is my dream come true! I love books, and I could easily spend weeks, even months getting lost in those books.

Jackson laughed. "Easy, sis. You look like you're about to have a heart attack!" 

"There's so much treasures that I don't know where to start!" I cried, stroking a antique book with red leather cover. It looks decent, so I decided to have a look. When I opened it, a piece of paper fell out. I could swear my heart skipped a beat.

"What's wrong?" Jackson asked.

I bite my bottom lip and just handed him the note. Jackson's face turned white. 

"How does she know?" He muttered.

I took the note. "Do you want me to read it? It might help us process better if we read it out loud." Jackson nodded.

I cleared my throat. 

"Dear Jackson and Liona,

I understand that you are wondering how I found you. I also understand that you ran away because you thought we were not trying hard enough. The truth is, we found some disturbing facts. The reason we didn't tell you anything is that we don't want you to worry. We thought that because you guys are children, you might process this information in the wrong way and do something rash. But we were mistaken. You two proved that you are more than children. Therefore, I cannot hide the facts any longer. After all, you two deserve it after all you went through.

I know that you must have lots of questions. But first, one by one. The first one, how did I find you guys? I do not know if he told you this. Perhaps he did. But I am going to tell you. Roy's father is a member of S.P.A.C.E. And he is my brother. When I received the news that you two are are going to the Red Knight Castle (yes, we have many spies) I informed Ted (Roy's dad) immediately. He kept an eye for you, and he sent Roy to assist you. 

And yes, Roy knew everything. He was put on strict orders by his dad to help you but keep you safe at the same time. He told me that he had a hard time trying to make Jackson believe that he is actually trying to help." 

I side-eyed Jackson. 

He coughed. "Keep on reading." 

"And he also said that Liona had a "smile that would light up the room"

Jackson side-eyed me.

I coughed.

"When you guys ran away for the millionth time, we sent a message to Ted again, and Ted told Roy to look out for you guys. 

Now the second question: what's the disturbing facts. We found out that the Shadow is your mom's cousin. So you guy are related. And that Beatrice had a box similar to Pandora's box. Pandora and Beatrice are twins, like the yin and yang. Pandora is the dark side, and Beatrice is the light side. They balance each other out. And it also happens that the Shadow has Pandora's box, and he threatens to release all the dark things in the world. But he needs the Beatrice's key to open Pandora's box, just like to open Beatrice's box you need to have Pandora's key. And he believe your mom has Beatrice's key. Pandora never had children, so the Shadow assumed your mom also has Pandora's key. So he took your mom. She does not have the key. She gave the Shadow a fake one. The Shadow will soon realise that this is not the real key. 

We do not know where the key is. But we do know that there is not much time left. We must find the key is, and fast. You two, stay in Roy's house. He will take good care of you, and don't run away again. I will find you when the S.P.A.C.E. finds more information. 

Remember, you mom and dad want the best for you. DON'T DO RASH THINGS. Be safe out there.

Love,

Luna."

"This is a lot of information." Said Jackson, breaking the silence. 

I frowned. "Jackson, I think we are the key." 

"Well, we are twins, like Beatrice and Pandora." Jackson mused. "But we can't be a key, we are way too big. I got a feeling that the key is an object." 

I was fiddling with my necklace. The cool metal against my palm calms me down and helps me process. 

"Hey Li, your necklace is in the shape of a key!" Jackson shouted.

I pulled my necklace up for a closer look. It was silver, and a crystal in the shape of a heart was in the top of the key. There was a white swan on the back. I can't believe I never noticed it before. I slid my fingers over the bumps of the gem. "Where's your key?"

Jackson took something shiny out of his pocket. "Like I told you before, I take it everywhere. When I am angry and feel like I am about to create a storm, I would touch it..." He sighed and I felt the slightest breeze of wind. "Mom gave it to me for my 12th birthday. She said to take good care of it." Jackson dropped the object in my hand. It was an actual key. The sleek silver metal of cold in my fingers. The top of the key had a black tint to it. There was a carving of a black swan on the back. I showed Jackson the swans. He looked thoughtful. 

"Now we know that they match." Jackson said, "the black must mean darkness. The white means light... so I am the Dark Lord! Bow to me!"

I giggled and curtsied. "Of course your highness. I shall be the Queen of Light!" I did that to mock him. Jackson turned pale.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

" We have the key. The Shadow wants the key. The Shadow is after..."

I gulped. "Us"


	9. Face To Face

All I ever want in my life is to be normal. But I am far from that. Even if we did find mom, things would never be normal. 

Now that I thought of it, it never was. 

Me and Jackson were destined to be endowed. We were meant to use our powers for the greater good, not for our own greed. 

"Li!" Jackson shouted. "Come here!" 

I ran down the glass stairs. "What?!" 

"Look at this!" He cried, holding up a book. It was the Red Knight book, and it was flipped to a page.

Pandora and Beatrice were twins. Beatrice is creation, and Pandora is destruction. They created a box that holds all the horror and beauty in the world. They hid the box because they knew that someone named Cauchemar was after their powers. To open the box, Cauchemar need to have Beatrice and Pandora's key. Pandora was clever. She knew Cauchemar would try to get her key first because he was the most interested with dark things. So Pandora gave the key to Beatrice, who gave the key to her son Arthur. Arthur kept it safe and went into hiding. When Cauchemar got to Pandora, he was enraged when she doesn't have the key. Pandora and Beatrice knew that once Cauchemar gets hold of the keys, he would make the world dystopian. Pandora used her last bit of life to weaken Cauchemar's power. So Cauchemar fell into a one hundred year sleep. Beatrice was devastated by Pandora's death. When Beatrice fell asleep, she never woke up. Before Beatrice died though, she told Arthur to pass on the keys and guard it with him life. She made him swear. Soon, Arthur had twins. And when they were old enough, he made them swear on their lives too to protect the keys. Arthur hoped that the world would be ready when Cauchemar woke up. And the one of the twins had a daughter. She gave the keys to her daughter. The daughter had twins. She gave the keys to the twins. And it went on like this for generations. Cauchemar woke up over a hundred year later. He called himself the Shadow...

The rest of the page is ripped. The name Cauchemar rings a bell. I tried to remember my french. Cauchemar means nightmare in french! I could make out a tiny handwritten note on the top of the page. I squinted. Connect the keys. 

I beckoned to Jackson. "Take out your key." He fumbled with his pocket as I pulled my necklace. We connected the tip of the key so that they are touching. There was a flash of black and white. And then words were reflected on the walls.

Go back to where you started

"What does that mean?" Jackson scrunched his nose.

"I means we have to go back to our house! I never thought we will go back!" I opened my backpack and pulled out the card that you need to get into our apartment. Suddenly, the curtains flew open and a dark figure with a cloak grabbed the carb from my hand.

I tried to hold the figure but all I grabbed was air. "I can't hold him!" 

"Then how will be trap him?" Jackson yelled.

The figure bolted out the door. Me and Jackson ran to pursue him/her.

By the time we got down the stairs, the figure already ran out the door. We continued the cat and rat chase. Suddenly, Jackson conjured a breeze to blow the cloak off the figure's face. While I gingerly picked up the cloak, Jackson shouted: "STOP!" But the figure already fled. 

I fingered the soft material in my hands. " It's made of charmeuse fabric." I muttered. The silk was cool in my hands. Everything was beginning to fog up. I was frozen and I had no control of my body. The last thing I saw was Jackson holding up his hands, his mouth was open but there was no sound. 

The scene changed to a mall. I frowned. I swear I saw this before. A man in black was walking at a brisk pace. Something tells me to follow him. So I did. With him cape fluttering behind him like dark wings. The man opened a brass door. He looked around to see if anyone was there. Of course he couldn't see me. I followed the man inside. The room was empty, with a dull white wallpaper. The man locked the door. And he looked straight at me. But he can't see me right? his man was unusual. This is very wrong. The man looked at the clock. He held his hand out, but he paused. I bet the man could sense I was there, but he seems to be in a hurry. The man placed his palms in front of him face. And it morphed in to a guy in navy blue uniform. I went closer. He looks so familiar. I saw the golden badge. I gasped. 

The guard/man opened the door. He was coming towards a small girl curled up into a ball. The girl was me. 

Steve smiled. "Hey kid, the mall's about to close. What are you doing here?" He asked. I (my seven year old self) only stared at him.

"Here." He replied, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket. "My name is Steve." My past self gingerly took the handkerchief and blew her nose.

"Thank you." She muttered. Was it just me, or did Steve's eyes have a tint of red?

"Your welcome." Steve said. He looked around. "Where is your parents?" My seven year old me turned away. Steve's eye flashed maniacally. He was reaching for my neck, where the necklace is...

"Li!" Someone cried. I turned around. I saw a boy running towards me. A few steps behind the boy, a woman with a lilac jacket was running. I saw Steve gasp and with a blink of an eye, he was gone. My past self tuned around and braced the boy. Jackson. 

The memory ended and everything was unstable again. I havn't used my ability for a long time. I felt a little nauseous and I almost fell. Luckily Jackson's strong arms held me up. The memory of mom has made my emotionally unstable. I cried into his arms. Jackson was great. He patted my head and tried to calm me down. It had been a month from the day mom was taken. I had almost lost all hope. Even if we did find her, maybe she was already gone...

"Li? What happened?" Jackson asked. I went into full rant about the man in black that can change shape. His eyes widened about the part where he tries to take my necklace.

"You saved me just in time."I muttered. Jackson smiled. But it was replaced by a frown.

"Is the man the Shadow? Because in the Children of The Red Knight book, Cauchemar aka Shadow aka James Smith can morph into anyone. He was the children of Bora. Bora was one of the three children that left the Red Knight and turned bad. He also had the power of Metamorphosis. The same thing the Shadow has." Jackson explained.

I groaned. "That just made things a whole lot worse." 

We were silent for a while. "I guess you didn't catch the guy." 

Jackson grimly nodded.

"Oh god, it's all my fault. If I had the mind the close the window then the Shadow won't have the card. He could get to the box and destroy it before we can open it." I moaned. "I'm so stupid."

Jackson put a hand on my shoulder. "It's not your fault. I should have locked the door. That way he can't get out." 

"But still..."Jackson shushed me. 

"Not everything is in our control, sis. You can't put everything into neat little boxes and pretend that everything is perfect."

I heat up. "That's because you don't bother to take it into your own hands! If you helped me, I won't be so tired all the time and I could think more clearly!" 

"Because you kept on thinking that everything is going to be all right! It's not! Nothing is right. Look at our progress, we only just found the key in a month's time. Something can already happen to mom. By the rate we will get to the box, we will be 14!" Jackson's face was red. 

"If you tried, at least try to help me, then it would have gone a lot faster! We would have already opened the box. You already wasted too much time on S.P.A.C.E. You keep on thinking that we just have to go with the flow. This is our job. We got to take this matter into our own hands." I shot back.

Jackson glared. "We don't have to do everything alone! We need help, so stop being too stubborn to get any! We are only teenagers, what can we do? So stop thinking you're too good for any of this." 

"You do it your way. Ask Roy and Luna for help like a baby and wait for them to do everything. We don't have anymore time to spare. While you go beg for them to assist you, I'll go find the box." I grabbed my bag and headed back to Roy's house.

"Fine! I don't care! I don't need you anyway!" Jackson yelled. To be truthful, this stabbed me right in the heart. Now I lost my last ally. I have to do this alone.

I opened the door and looked back. Jackson is not there. Where did he go? I face-palmed myself. Why do I care about him anyway? How did I ever get myself into this mess?

I collected the things I'll need for the journey. I took the blue flashlight that Roy gave me and the clothes that Luna had sent a few days ago. I changed into new clothes and grabbed the "Children of The Red Knight" book. I crammed all the things into my red JanSport backpack and ran down the stairs. 

"Liona? Where are you going." It was Roy. I havn't seen him much these days. He had said that he got training. 

"Somewhere." I muttered. I raised my hand for the door knob. 

Roy grabbed my hand," no wait, let me come with you."

I sighed impatiently. "Look Roy, I don't have much time left. I have to get to the box before the Shadow. Plus, you will need to pack your....oh." He had held up a blue JanSport backpack. 

"I got all the things I need here. Including money, clothes, foods, my phone and lots more. Please let me come with you." 

I tapped my foot. He could come. Roy could help. "When did you pack these things?" I asked.

Roy grinned. "Ever since you came here."

"But don't you have tuitions and important training?" 

"These don't matter. At least, not anymore. My father says I must assist you. So I must follow his command." Roy smiled.

"You do understand that this is dangerous, right?" 

"Of course I do. But you and Jackson do it all the time." I cringed when he said Jackson. 

"Plus, I trust you."

I gave in. "Fine, you can come with me."

"Yes!" 

 

According to Google Maps, my house isn't too far away from Roy's house.

But it's a good half an hour walk.

Meanwhile, Roy was chattering to me so much that it gave me a headache. But I was glad that I let him come along because adventures are so much more fun when you have someone to share it with. 

I was starting to think that maybe I had been a little too harsh on Jackson. But he started it anyway. 

"We're here!" Roy chirped happily. I frowned. I felt like everything has been too easy. 

Roy circled our single house."How do we get in?"

I picked up a rock and threw it at a window. The glass shatters all over the house. I put my fingers to my lips and looked at Roy. Then I beckoned him to follow me. We were directly I carefully climbed over the window frame and made sure not to step on the broken glass. But Roy wasn't so lucky.

"Owww..."He groaned. Roy held out his hand. There was blood and the best I can do was wrap my handkerchief around his fingers tightly. Roy took a sharp intake of breath when I tied a knot with the cloth.

"Does it really hurt?" I asked. Roy bite his lip and shook his head. So we walked into mom's room. It was dusty and I noticed that there was pictures of me, Jackson, mom and dad all over the wall. Tears filled my eyes. Roy saw that I was a little unstable so he opened his arms and I walked into them. It felt really good. It was really warm and I want to stay there forever. 

I heard a rustle of sound behind me and I turned around. A man in clock stood. 

I gasped. "Uncle Henry?" 

Uncle Henry looked much older and... different from the photo mom showed me. 

"Liona" Uncle Henry asked. I nodded. 

"If that Jackson?" Uncle Henry said, pointing to Roy. 

"No. That's my friend, Roy." Then I suddenly remembered that I need Jackson's key also to open Beatrice's box. I smacked myself. When I looked up, Roy was frowning. 

"Was it just me or did your Uncle Henry change shape..."

As soon as those words left his mouth, Uncle Henry's face changed. His moustache was gone and his tan skin turned pale. His brown curls turned straight and black. He had the same jet black hair as me and the same almond shaped eyes that Jackson has. I frowned, trying to remember where I saw this man. 

When I realised who he was. It was too late.

"Well, well well. Who do we have here?" The Shadow smirked.

Roy's mouth was open and he was frozen with fear. It seems like someone has injected cold water int my veins. I thought of mom and dad, and for some reason, the thought of them made me fearless.

"We are not afraid of you, James!" I hissed

The Shadow's smirk disappeared and growled, "careful, Liona, or you might end up as the same fate as your good-for-nothing father!"

I exploded. "YOU KILLED HIM. YOU CRUEL MONSTER! MHHPHH!" Roy clamped his hand over my mouth and his other free hand held me back. His grip was surprisingly firm. 

"Let me go Roy ! HE KILLED MY FATHER! HE MURDERED HIM!" Then I fell to the floor. "He killed him..." I pulled out the Jackson's handkerchief and blew my nose. How I wished he was here now...

Roy had let go of his hold on me, now his hand were limp at his sides. The Shadow watched everything with amusement. It disgusts me to the core of my soul. 

The Shadow snapped his fingers and I saw...my cousin Belle. She was pushing a figure taller than her. 

"MOM!" I shouted. Mom didn't respond. Her eyes were glassy and her face blank. 

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER! I SWEAR I WOULD MMMPPHH!" Roy stuffed my handkerchief in my mouth. I spat it out and glared at the Shadow. My voice of hoarse from all the shouting.

"She can't hear of see you. Marrinette was causing to much of a noise so I closed her soul." The Shadow grinned evilly. The fire inside of me died. 

I groaned and slumped in Roy's arms. A person can live without their souls, but that is the worse thing because if you have no soul, you are just a empty shell. 

"If you cause more noise I will kill her." The words chills me to my bone. "What have you done to Belle?" 

"I manipulated her." The Shadow says casually. He beckoned to Belle at us and she used rope to tie our hands up. I gave in without a struggle. The Shadow looked at us with pleasure. Belle pushed us with a iron grip down a dark hallway and into a cell . She untied out knots. Then Belle left, double locking the door. The cell has one window. It was plain with white wallpaper. I remember this used to be the guest house. Sometimes when Uncle Henry visits, he would sleep here. There was two neatly hand-woven grass mats on the floor. I think Aunt Alice gave it to mom as a wedding present. There also a only one jug of water a two piece of bread. 

"Does he expect us to drink out of the same cup?" Roy asked. I smiled, tiredly. 

I looked around in despair. Belle has took Roy's backpack and my knapsack before we entered this prison. I felt too sad to cry. My pockets were empty (the Shadow has searched in it). The key was also taken by him too. The selfish part of me wishes Jackson was here. But he cannot get caught by the Shadow. Or all hope will be lost.

I didn't know how long I have stayed in this cell. There was a knock on the door.


	10. The War Of Darkness

An idea formed in my head. Maybe we can break the window and escape! I could crawl through the window because I am thin enough and I could go run for help! But my idea was blocked when I tapped on the glass on the window. 

"It's too solid..." I muttered, depressed.

"It's probably not made of glass." Roy said. I was quiet. I was recking my brains for ideas. I could run for it when Belle comes with dinner, but the Shadow would kill me before I could even get to the door. 

Belle came in with a message, "The Shadow will deal with you two tomorrow. He said enjoy life while you still can, niece." 

I seethed. Even before I died he still wants to make fun of me. The idea makes me sick. I wonder how could I be related to such a horrible person. But to be truthful, I wasn't very scared of death. Because I will get to join dad when the time comes. 

Roy shivered. "I heard the Shadow likes to play with his food before eating them." I gulped. I thought of the Shadow torturing my dad before at last killing him.

Roy was quiet ever since he made to remark about the glass. I suspected he was asleep by now. He was curled up into a ball in the corner. He had dragged the mat underneath him and his head is between his leg. Roy's arm was draped over his head, as if to protect it. He didn't make any sign of moving soon.

I tried to make myself comfortable as I can. Roy sighed deeply and uncurled and I heard his bones cracking. I as I took a drink out of the cup as Roy moved his mat closer to mine. I lay on my stomach and desperately wished that Jackson or mom is here to comfort me. 

"It's going to be okay." Roy muttered. I wasn't sure if he did that to reassure me or to comfort himself. I felt more sure of that second option. 

Belle came in once again to bring us to a bathroom break. At least six guards came with us. Belle came in the backroom with me so I was sure I couldn't escape. I washed my face put my hair in a messy bun. The water felt cool against my hot skin. I was hungry but I don't dare to ask for food.

When I came back into the room, Roy was already there. His hair is damp and I could be a fresh bruise starting to form on the right side of his face. The jug was refilled with water and a bowl with two piece of lettuce and a spoonful of rice was placed beside my mat. I see Roy's bowl was already empty. 

Roy's stomach growled. I frowned. How can he be hungry if he already ate? 

"Did you give your food to me?" I asked.

"No." Roy lied.

He knew that I knew that he was lying, so he allowed me to put a lettuce and some rice in his bowl. I guess ehe was too hungry to think properly. 

Roy stopped chewing his rice. "What if he put poison in the food?" 

"No he wouldn't. He would make us do something first then die." Hearing the word die, Roy shivered violently and was quiet.

How did I ever get stuck in this situation? I always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why did I fought with Jackson? If only if I had listened to him and asked for help! Now he is probably at the headquarters of S.P.A.C.E. enjoying a cup of Milo and talking to Luna. Even if he did care about me, everything is too late. 

With that thought stuck in my brain, tears rolled down my cheek. I looked at Roy. His back was towards me but he twitched when I sniffed. When I started sobbing, he got up and hugged me. Roy didn't ask me questions or try to tell me that everything is fine because everything is not fine and not okay. I was grateful that he never said anything about it the next morning. But I saw his damp shirt. 

"I'm sorry for getting your shirt wet." I said. 

"It's okay. I think we're past saying sorry." Roy replied, chewing on a biscuit that was our breakfast. The cracker in my mouth was dry and I couldn't swallow it. There was a quiet knock on the window. I have never been so relieved to see Jackson. But it was gone and soon as it come, and instead, panic took over. 

I tried to silently tell him to go, or else he will get caught. I hear some shuffling behind the door and then everything happened so fast. The window cracked open and Jackson pulled me and Roy out the window. But Belle grabbed Roy's foot, but Roy kicked her hand violently with his other foot. Even though Belle has been turned into a robot, she an still feel pain. She gasped and loosened her grip on Roy. Roy took off his shoe and threw it at the other guard who was trying to grab him. Jackson punched Belle, breaking her nose and she let lose a high pitched scream. 

Jackson shouted, "let's go!"

I heard more footsteps and yelled back, "mom's in there!" 

"We don't have time!" Panted Luna. In all the chaos I never noticed her. There was a cut below her eye and it was bleeding badly. 

Belle made a sound that sounds like a wolf...no...werewolf howl and I noticed dogs with a crazed look in their eyes coming towards us. Even thought Belle lost her memories, she still have her ability. 

Before we had the time to run, the pack has already surrounded us. With Jackson behind my back and Roy beside me, at least I won't die alone. The dogs had blood-red eyes and were restless to eat us. Belle stood behind them like a queen. 

She opened her mouth to give the order to kill.

"Belle!" Aunt Alice yelled. She is in a terrible shape, with her deadly pale skin and dark circles under her eyes, she would have looked scary if you didn't know her (Aunt Alice is one of the sweetest people alive) 

Belles froze when she heard her mom's voice. The Shadow was watching the scene. His eyes were blood red and he was screaming, "do it!" 

I was scared for Belle. She was holding her head and letting out a sound that didn't even sound human. I shivered as chills ran down my spine. Roy reached for my hand and I clutched it.

I glanced at the dogs behind us and they are now utterly still, like a statue. The red glint had gone out of their eyes. 

You can clearly see Belle was in pain and Jackson stood next to me so that we are shoulder to shoulder. We watched in horror as the Shadow takes the life out of her and there was nothing we can do to help her. Aunt Alice gasped as Belle fell down to her knees. She screamed in pain again and fell silent. Me and Jackson had learned to cope with grief now. This is battle, it's cruel and cold. 

Even though Roy didn't know Belle that well, he was sniffing and Aunt Alice was broken with heartache. She lost Uncle Henry and Belle. I hurried over to her while Jackson kept a watchful eye over the dogs. They had calmed down and their eyes had turned green. Some of the dogs yelped as if showing respect to Belle. 

Aunt Alice was shaking her head and crying, "Bells bells bells.." and she said something along the lines of, "I'm sorry Henry, I didn't protect her..."

Roy glared at the Shadow. He was unnaturally still. I frowned. This was unusual. I nudged Jackson, who was rubbing Aunt Alice's back. He had a look of concern in his eyes and then they cleared up.

"The Shadow can't stand love and loss!" Jackson whispered excitedly. 

"Let's call his James." I replied firmly. And for a second, I see past the evil in James and see a little boy standing in a corner. For a second, I felt pity for him. I shook my head. What is wrong with me?! He killed Belle without hesitation! 

Suddenly, Pandora's box came out of...well...Belle. I gasped and found my necklace hanging around my neck. 

"Ready?" Jackson asked with a glint in his eyes. 

I nodded and we connected out keys. It turned two wings. One side is black and one side is white. Roy's mouth was open is awe and the Shadow's eye was big in shock. 

I smiled. For once everything was going right. Two feather dropped to the ground and the wings disappeared into the blinding light. I picked up the black feather and Jackson picked up the white on. We sticked them in the two holes in the box at the same time. 

The Shadow screamed. He was mistaken. It was Beatrices's box that held the evil, not Pandora's. That's why I picked up the black father even though I am white. I smiled. The Shadow only saw the evil in this world. 

Even when the whole world is against you, look for that tiny percent of something that makes all the pain and suffering worth it. 

I sighed and for the first time in months, I was happy. But soon grief pulled my down again and I just felt so tired. I want to sleep and never wake up and take the blame and the truth. As if when you sleep everything in the world stops. But the world goes on with or without you. And so does Jackson and mom and all those people that I love. 

We break and we fall and make our mistakes. The past is the past and if there is a world when everyone that I loved has died, I am willing to take their place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So guys that's the end of the story! Thanks my friends for helping me! I will put a the url for the the second part of the Abilities series. The book is called The Light Within You and please take a look at that! 
> 
> (Ps. The book is told in Jackson's perspective!)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks you for reading my story! This is my first story that I posted online so feedback is welcome! (I don't expect lots of people to read it anyway)


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